Welders in the Fayetteville area earn a median of $49,780 a year, 5% below the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #257 of 382 U.S. metros nationwide.
Within driving distance, the same work pays more in Raleigh and Burlington, but less in Goldsboro.
Fayetteville scorecard for welders Our calculation
Grades compare Fayetteville with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($52,285).
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Fayetteville Our calculation
Prices in the Fayetteville area run 8% below the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $54,122 would in a typical place, ranking #220 of 377 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What welders do
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
- Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
- Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
- Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
- Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, welder jobs are projected to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 40,300 openings a year. About 4% are self-employed.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, welders have 43 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 50% below the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
Highest-paying NC metros for welders
| Metro | Median | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreenvilleNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $57,360 | $64,885 | 230 |
| RaleighNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $56,940 | $58,009 | 1,090 |
| CharlotteNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $56,070 | $57,597 | 3,370 |
| WilmingtonNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $55,340 | $57,394 | 260 |
| GreensboroNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $54,180 | $58,343 | 1,180 |
| AshevilleNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $52,540 | $54,442 | 290 |
| BurlingtonNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $50,740 | $54,444 | 120 |
| FayettevilleNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $49,780 | $54,122 | 80 |
| Rocky MountNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $49,600 | $56,356 | 250 |
| DurhamNORTH CAROLINA · NC | $49,280 | $50,506 | 290 |
See every metro in North Carolina.
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Fayetteville area's unemployment rate was 4.7% in 2025 (all workers, not just welders), above the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 6.5% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Fayetteville area is 23 minutes each way, about the same as the typical metro (24 min). 10% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 74% drive alone, 0% take transit and 8% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
New construction
New-home permits in Fayetteville are down 9% from 2021 to 2025 (2,307 → 2,105).
In 2025 the Fayetteville area approved permits for 2,105 new homes (1,379 single-family), or 5.4 per 1,000 residents, ranking #121 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 15 one-person businesses (no employees) in industrial machinery repair, averaging $29,800 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 16 industrial machinery repair companies that have employees (about 92 workers in total). 56% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $49,780 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get welder pricing & estimate templates →Compare Fayetteville with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.